Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com

Here's the weekly roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles. After a Week 3 loss, the Birds, and specifically Michael Vick, took a lot of heat.

The links:

Former NFL VP of Officiating Mike Pereiraripped Vick for his comments about the officials and said the Eagles always complain more than any other team:

"Well, I thought it was ridiculous," he said. "It actually took me back, it took me back to my job in New York when I worked for the league, and it was a constant complaint by the Eagles, whether it was [Donovan] McNabb at quarterback or whether it was Vick. They clearly complained more than any other team."

"He’s a quarterback that’s on the move, he’s going to get hit more," Pereira said. "Yes, there are a couple that may be missed but the fact that a ton of them are missed and that he’s hit late all the time is absurd. And he comes out and kind of does the mea culpa yesterday but at the same time what did he say? ‘I was being too candid.’ Well, that doesn’t sound to me like much of an apology. And also the damage is done. I don’t want to be the referee that goes in there now next and works with him. If he calls a roughing the passer penalty for a hit on Vick everybody’s going to say, ‘Well, Vick taunted him into that.’ If he doesn’t [call it] there’s going to be more criticism. So I think it was a bunch of bull and it didn’t sit well with me and it still doesn’t."

What a weak act that was by Michael Vick in the postgame last Sunday. Yes, you were complaining about not getting late-hit penalty flags, Mike, not merely just pointing it out to the unaware. Otherwise Vick wouldn't have felt the need to backtrack the next day and try to make the story go away. I actually saw referee Jeff Triplette bend over and help Vick to his feet after the hit No. 7 took from Giants defensive lineman Chris Canty, and I can't recall that kind of QB treatment from the guys in stripes too often. An air of entitlement might be making a comeback in Philly.

The Eagles appear to already be in crisis mode, but when aren't they? Philadelphia is only one game behind the rest of the division, and this week's visit from San Francisco should provide a relative breather for an Eagles defense that has been forced back on its heels. But it's imperative that Andy Reid's club gets to .500 and stabilizes a bit, because tough road trips to Buffalo and Washington await in Weeks 5-6.

Three games into the season, it is clear that they made the wrong choice at quarterback. Vick is not their guy, and will never be their guy, and all the $100-million contracts and Nike endorsements and video game excitement and commissioner’s love won’t change that. Vick is not their guy because he can’t stay upright long enough for them to climb on his shoulders. He can’t stay on the field enough to lead them down it. He can’t stay healthy enough to make anyone other than his own team absolutely sick.

This offseason, in giving Vick a contract with a guaranteed $40 million, the Eagles traded young arm Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals. After three games this year, both the Cardinals and Eagles are 1-2, with Kolb owning a 93.7 passer rating while Vick has thrown for a 87.7. Oh, yes, and one more difference. Kevin Kolb has actually played in all three games, while Vick has missed parts of two of them and is currently suffering from a severely bruised hand that could cause him to miss another month.

Bad enough that Brandon Jacobs ran past a slow Matthews on the Giants' first score of the day, a wheel-route touchdown toss from Eli Manning that gave the Giants a 7-0 lead. But with the Giants stuck at their 26 late in the quarter on third-and-two, Manning threw a short pass to the left flat to Victor Cruz. Coleman came up to him at the Giants' 35, had a clear shot at a tackle, but went high at him -- around the chest -- and Cruz burst through him, shucking him off and going for a 74-yard touchdown. There were other Philadelphia defensive deficiencies later -- one at the goal line by Nnamdi Asomugha -- but Matthews and Coleman led the way in digging a huge hole for the Eagles.

The self-proclaimed “Dream Team” has gotten off to the same kind of poor start that the Miami Heat did in the early days of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade playing together for the first time. Not only is Philadelphia 1-2, it has become quickly evident that the Eagles erred by not bettering the offensive line during their wild offseason personnel spree. Michael Vick can whine about the officiating all he wants, but the oft-injured quarterback should focus the brunt of his anger on the five players in front of him who are doing a shoddy job of protection.

Eli Manning matched a career-high four TD passes and snapped a seven-game INT streak. Was it Manning or was it the Philly defense? Cullen Jenkins, Trent Cole and Jason Babin are providing consistent pressure, but the young linebackers continue to struggle.

You can’t simply explain away Vick’s complaints by pointing out he is more prone to leave the pocket than Manning and Brady. The rules governing hits on quarterbacks are primarily driven by the huge financial investments owners make in the position and the position’s importance in supporting television interest.

Vick has a second $100 million contract, and I’d argue that he’s the league’s third-best individual television draw after Manning and Brady. Vick is worthy of protection. We should not dismiss his complaint as whining.

Bottom line: The starting quarterback is hurt. The standings say 1-2. Last place in the NFC East. Six turnovers in the past two weeks are the six biggest reasons this club has lost two straight, and frankly, that will sink any good team in the parity party going on in the NFL right now. Kurt Coleman, that was a terrible tackle attempt on Victor Cruz. Freaking horrific.

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Sheil Kapadia is in his fifth season writing about the Eagles and the NFL for philly.com. His earliest
memories as a sports fan include several trips to Veterans Stadium with
his Dad. He's not a beat writer or an Insider, but is here to
discuss the NFL 365 days a year. E-mail him at skapadia@philly.com or
by clicking here